Vehicle tire theft is an ongoing problem for vehicle owners. Specialized locking or anti-theft lug nuts can be used that require a proper socket key to remove the lug nut, thereby making theft difficult. But these mechanical protections are not always used and can be defeated. Vehicle security systems are known and commonly used to detect and announce unauthorized access to the vehicle. For example, vehicle alarm systems that can be armed and disarmed using a keyfob or other portable transmitter are in wide use today and are used by the vehicle operator to help prevent access to and theft of items from the vehicle as well as theft of the vehicle itself. Some such systems can help prevent wheel theft by sensing movement of the vehicle and sounding an audible alarm that attracts attention and deters the would-be thief. However, even those that detect movement of the vehicle are not specifically designed or implemented to detect theft of the vehicle wheels or tires themselves.
In an unrelated field of automotive engineering, many vehicle models today employ tire pressure monitoring (TPM) systems to monitor and alert a driver when a tire pressure falls below a certain level. The TPM system may employ pressure sensors having unique identification numbers and mounted at each wheel of a vehicle. Then, the vehicle is programmed with the location of each sensor so the vehicle will know exactly which tire if any whose pressure falls below a certain level. In case of a tire rotation, the vehicle is reprogrammed with the sensors new locations. Depending on the vehicle manufacturer, reprogramming a vehicle TPM sensors can be performed automatically when a vehicle is driven, performing some functions such as pushing a reprogramming button inside the vehicle, using the vehicle key fob, performed at a service station by a service technician using a special reprogramming tool, etc.